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“Or we could name him Kayne …”

Alyssa’s eyes thinned, glaring daggers at John. She opened her mouth to speak, but John burst out laughing. “I’m just playing with you.” She laughed and then playfully pushed John. He grabbed her wrist and held it to his chest. It was so hard for him to keep his hands off of her.

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“What’s so funny?”

“Nothing?”

“Liar.”

“Come here,” he urged. He wrapped an arm around her shoulders.

Silence enveloped them, and the only sound in the room was the spinning fan. Her breathing deepened. She scissored her legs, trying to play it off as if she was just moving into a new position, but the truth was his touch lit a fire inside of her. His fingers trailed her hips and close to her butt and a sigh rolled off her lips. John scooted closer to her and continued.

“Feel good?” he asked.

Her eyes rolled shut. “Yes,” was barely above a whisper. She shouldn’t like his touch right now, but she did. She craved it.

John grabbed for her thigh and hiked it up over his hip. Alyssa was wearing small shorts. What had she called them? Boy shorts? It didn’t matter. All that mattered was feeling every inch of her skin and making her feel good and seeing her smile. In spite of their current situation, she still got under his skin.

Trailing his fingers along her waist and down her hips, he traced past her shorts to her sex, and she took a deep breath, inhaling loudly … and Those. Damn. Breasts. Rose. High. A groan reverberated in the back of his throat and she grabbed his wrist.

“Do you want me to stop?” he asked, hoarsely.

Opening her sleepy eyes, she said, “No. Your touch relaxes me.”

“Then why did you stop me?”

“Because your touch is a lot to handle right now.”

John paused, slightly confused. “Is that a good thing or bad thing?”

Alyssa smiled shyly. “It’s a good thing.” She nuzzled closer to John, burrowing her head in the curve of his shoulder. She inhaled and sighed, draping an arm over John’s stomach and slipping her leg between his. Safe. It’s the first thing that popped in her head. She felt safe and secure in his arms.

“Your touch feels incredible,” she said huskily. John continued running his nails gently down her side, over her shoulder and down her back, repeating the motion. He drew closer and his lips grazed hers.

Alyssa froze.

Pressed against her lips, he asked, “Why are you holding back?”

“Because … Because as much as I love how it feels, I think you should stop,” she responded breathlessly. It was a partial lie. She loved his touch, but she wasn’t right inside. She didn’t want pity kisses and she feared that’s what she would get. Alyssa had gotten herself into her current situation and she would get herself out.

“Why’s that?”

She bit her lip. “Because I’ll want more, you’re making me want more, but right now is just not the time. And …”

John looked at her in anticipation. She rolled her bottom lip into her mouth and bit down. “I don’t want you here just for sympathy or thinking a kiss will fix it all. I want you to do it because you want to for no reason other than to feel me, not because you feel bad.”

Falling onto his back, John threw an arm over his eyes, sighing loudly. “You’re way off, but I guess it’s a good thing you pulled back. This wasn’t very smart of me … I shouldn’t have even touched you to begin with.”

Hurt surrounded her eyes. “Is it because I’m pregnant? The bruises?” She wasn’t even sure why she asked that.

“No.”

“Then why?”

He stayed silent for a moment. “I just think we need to talk things out instead of fuck. And if I touch you I’m going to want to fuck you. So I shouldn’t have touched you.”